Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/617358
42 | JANUARY + FEBRUARY 2016 nshoremag.com closed between Christmas and April. This is the ideal site for a do-it-your- self wedding that can be as simple or as elaborate as your imagination and your budget allow. (Or, for nup- tials inspired by Arthurian legend.) Winnekenni Castle 347 Kenoza Ave., Haverhill, 978-521-1686 winnekenni.com THE STEVENS ESTATE Also known as Osgood Hill, the Romanesque Revival house built in 1886 by textile magnate Moses Stevens provided a view of his mills below. The mills are gone, but the grand red brick and stone manse by the Boston architectural firm Hart- well and Richardson, surrounded by 154 acres groomed by landscape architect Ernest Bowditch, remains intact. It boasts magnificent carved fireplace surrounds, leather ceiling panels, stained glass, and superb oak and mahogany paneling. Twice threatened with destruction, the house now belongs to the town of North Andover. From the master suite, brides can watch guests come up the winding drive; in fact, the house seems espe- cially well designed for overlooking the scene and making grand en- trances. A recently added ballroom adjoins an outdoor paved area that houses a tent in the summer. Outdoor weddings can accom- modate 250; indoors, there is room for 150. Like all of these houses, The Stevens Estate has lovely flow be- tween indoors and out, with photo ops around every corner. The Stevens Estate 723 Osgood St., North Andover, 978-682-7072 stevensestate.com THE CRANE ESTATE When Chicago plumbing giant Richard T. Crane decided to build a summer home, he bought the most magnificent and auspicious piece of land he could find: the seaside drumlin in Ipswich known as Castle Hill. He then hired the day's leading architects and landscape designers to enhance the natural beauty. Crowning the top of the hill is the 1928 David Adler-designed 59-room Stuart-style Great House. From there, a half-mile-long Grand Allée flows down to Ipswich Bay, one of the country's greatest executions of landscape architecture. Wedding venues include the main house and allée as well as the Italian Garden, the Casino complex, an Italian-style rustic barn, an intimate "colonial" tavern, tents, lawns, and a secluded white-sand beach. All feature diz- zying views of ocean, marshes, and stretches of coastline. Groups of almost any size can be accommodated somewhere within the vast 2,100-acre complex that is a great jewel in The Trustees of Reservations' crown. There is even an inn on the property. Castle Hill at The Crane Estate 290 Argilla Rd., Ipswich, 978-356-4351 thetrustees.org photographs by, clockwise from top, Tom Kates, Sarah Bastille, Erica Ferrone, and Borisyuk Photography The Crane Estate in Ipswich (above) and The Stevens Estate (below) are both properties operated by The Trustees of Reservations.